Bitcoin Back in Green as Crypto Market Awaits Hong Kong Spot ETF Decision

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading above $65,000, while ether (ETH) is back above $3100 as market volatility has calmed after Iran launched a massive drone and missile attack against Israel that was mostly thwarted by air defense systems.

Bitcoin dropped below $62,000 over the weekend as geopolitical tension shook the markets. However, tension seems to have subsided, and this conflict will not escalate further as the U.S. has ruled out joining an Israeli counter-attack on Iran, according to Al-Jazeera.

Traders on Polymarket give a 4% chance of Israeli military action against Iran by April 15. This is down from nearly 57% in the immediate hours after Iran’s missile attack.

At the height of the tensions, PAXG, a tokenized gold digital asset created by Paxos, was trading at a 20% premium over its analog counterpart as crypto traders fled risk assets for the safety of the yellow metal.

Before the tension kicked off, the digital asset market had already been under immense selling pressure because of U.S. tax season, which also occurs in the run-up to the halving.

“Given that the halving occurs at a time when dollar liquidity is tighter than usual, it will add propellant to a raging firesale of crypto assets,” Arthur Hayes wrote in a blog post on the topic.

Traders are also anticipating the launch of bitcoin and perhaps ether ETFs in Hong Kong this week, giving traders in China easier access to digital assets exposure. Matrixport estimates that these ETFs could unlock up to $25 billion in demand.